Building back the capacity your job needs
Clinical exercise under your workers compensation claim, in our on-site gyms at Penrith, Blaxland and Ryde.
Can I see an exercise physiologist under WorkCover?
Yes. Your nominated treating doctor refers you, your insurer approves the sessions, and OnePointHealth bills the insurer directly. Exercise physiology is available in our on-site gyms at Penrith, Blaxland and Ryde. Penrith has two gyms and our largest workers compensation caseload.
What does exercise physiology do that physiotherapy does not?
The two do different jobs, and under a claim they often run in sequence.
Physiotherapy settles the injury.
Pain, movement, the immediate problem.
Exercise physiology rebuilds the capacity.
Getting you from moving comfortably to being able to do a full shift: the lifting, the standing, the repetition, the endurance your job actually asks for.
That distinction matters most at the point where an injury has settled but the work is still out of reach. Being pain-free at rest and being ready for eight hours on a site are different things, and the gap between them is where exercise physiology does its work.
Programs are built around your job rather than around general fitness. That means your exercise physiologist needs to know what your role involves before designing anything.
Am I eligible?
If your claim has not been accepted yet, you may still be able to start. Insurers can fund treatment under provisional liability while a claim is being decided, which is designed to stop people waiting for support they need. Call us and we will talk it through.
You can usually see an exercise physiologist under WorkCover if:
What our exercise physiologists help with
Whether treatment is covered depends on how your condition relates to your work injury, not on the condition itself. Your treating doctor and your insurer decide that.
Your exercise physiologist and your physiotherapist can work from the same plan.
Where your claim covers both, the handover from settling the injury to rebuilding capacity is planned rather than improvised.
Penrith has two gyms on site.
Treatment and conditioning happen in the one place, which matters when you are fitting appointments around a return-to-work plan.
WorkCover exercise physiology is available at Penrith, Blaxland and Ryde, in our on-site gyms. Home visits are available across the Penrith area.
For case managers, employers and treating doctors
We work with insurers and nominated treating doctors across Western Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the North Shore. Penrith carries our largest workers compensation caseload, with physiotherapy, exercise physiology and psychology on the one site.
Call 1300 123 674 or send a referral through our enquiry form.
What we provide:
Treatment plans and approval requests submitted directly to the insurer.
Progress reporting to the schedule your scheme requires.
Coordination across physiotherapy, exercise physiology and psychology where a claim covers more than one discipline.
Direct billing, with no invoicing to the worker.
Frequently asked questions
Is this just going to the gym?
No. Sessions run in a gym, but the program is clinical, designed by a university-qualified exercise physiologist around your injury, your history and the job you are returning to.
When should exercise physiology start?
Usually once the injury has settled enough that building capacity is the priority. Your nominated treating doctor decides the timing.
Can I do physiotherapy and exercise physiology at the same time?
Yes, where both are referred and approved. At Penrith they run from the one centre.
What if I have not exercised in years?
That is common after time off work. Programs start from where you are, not from where someone assumes you should be.
Will this help me get back to full duties?
The purpose of the program is to build the capacity your role requires. What that looks like, and how long it takes, depends on your injury and your job, and your exercise physiologist will set that out with you.
Do I need to bring anything to the gym?
Clothes you can move in, and enclosed shoes. Everything else is on site.